Evaluation

From the beginning of this project, I knew the theme I wanted to base it on, neither of the two
themes we were given to choose from spiked my interest. After discussing this with my
lecturer, I was allowed to create my own brief which was ‘The Forfar Witches’, this is something
I find interesting and I live in Forfar, therefore this was my choice.
I decided to create a sculpture dedicated to ‘the people of Forfar’ who were accused of
‘witchcraft’ and treated so horrifically, all those years ago, among them were some who were
executed for their crimes.
Once I had decided on my theme, I got to work designing my sculpture, I used cardboard to cut
several sized circles from, from larger to smaller, these were to be the base and the top
platform for my candle stick. When cutting out the circles using the cutting mat and craft knife, I
had to be careful not to cut my hands, so making sure to always take my time and cut away
from myself, keep my hands away from the blade and when the craft knife is not in use, be sure
to conceal the blade inside for safety.
I then used metal for the main body of the candle stick but as I wrapped it in foil to give it the
desired shape, I quickly realised that it was not very sturdy, I was careful when bending the wire
not to have it near my eyes and to use the correct snipping tools, again keeping my fingers
away from the snippy bit. I then covered my sculpture in mod roc, when cutting the mod roc
into thin strips, I wore a mask so as not to breathe in the dust as it is very dangerous to the
lungs, I covered the whole thing in the mod roc and I actually had a bit of an accident, I got
some of it in my eye. It might have been a good idea to wear goggles whilst applying it to my
sculpture, this is something I will be cautious of in the future.
I then made the candle, using a cardboard tube, I slightly squashed a small silver cake tin and
placed into the top of the carboard tube to create a little holder for the battery operated
tealight to sit in (so that I could easily remove it to switch it on and off as required). I covered
the tube in air drying clay, I wet my hand and gently squeezed the clay to imprint my hand into
it, to give the illusion of an invisible hand holding it, I molded a drip onto it too, using a small
sharp clay modelling tool, I was careful to cut away from myself and to keep my fingers away
from the sharp parts, when this was not in use, I put it away in its pouch. I molded the top part
of the candle over the flame of the battery-operated candle, I left them to dry with a piece of
cling film between the lid and the top of the candle body to get the join correct but prevent
them from sticking together.
I used felting wool to create a smoke like effect which I twined around the wire of a set of tiny
battery-operated fairy lights, which I cleverly concealed inside the main body of the candle.
I do like the outcome of my sculpture, though if I were to do this assignment again, I would
probably not do a candle stick, I would attempt a figure of a woman, the candle stick and candle
worked well in the timeframe we had for this.
I am really happy with the effect I managed to achieve as I feel that it represents exactly what I
was hoping for, I wanted it to represent the Forfar Witches in a soft, caring and sympathetic
manner, to show that what happened was wrong and should never have taken place, these
were ‘just people’ who were misunderstood.
I don’t think there is anything I dislike about my sculpture and its intended meaning, but if I
were to do it again, I would use a thicker wire for the middle body of the candle stick to help
make it stronger and more sturdy.